Liz Wittrig is the recipient of the Mennonite Brethren Historical Commission’s summer archival internship for 2015. The selection committee chose Liz from several strong candidates from Mennonite universities and colleges in the US and Canada.

As intern, Liz will spend a total of five weeks visiting each of the MB archival centers in North America (Fresno, Hillsboro, Winnipeg, and Abbotsford) during the months of June and July. In addition to discovering the unique character of each these Mennonite archives, she will explore the stories and images housed in them, especially pursuing her interest in women’s voices in relation to the Anabaptist peace witness.

“We are very pleased to award the archival internship to Liz. We hope it will be a rich experience for her and that it will provide insights for the Commission, too. We see this as another part of our mandate to document and communicate the story of God’s work among us,” says Don Isaac, chair of the Historical Commission.

Liz is a senior student completing a BA degree (Bible, Religion, and Philosophy) in May 2015 at Goshen College, Goshen, Indiana. She is also currently completing an internship at the Mennonite Church USA Archives in Goshen, collecting and summarizing primary sources and assisting in exhibit creation.

The summer internship is made possible with support from US and Canadian Mennonite Brethren Churches.

Students will explore Kenya and six other countries during the college’s three-week May Term starting April 30.

This May, campus might be a bit quieter than usual as nearly 100 Goshen College students travel abroad during the college’s unique three-week May term.

Six international courses will take students across the globe to Nepal, Kenya, Greece, Italy, China, Spain and Morocco – and that doesn’t even include the summer Study-Service Term (SST) units in Peru, Senegal and Nicaragua that begin in May. Many of these classes are interdisciplinary and open to all students regardless of year or major.

“May Term gives students who are not able to go on SST the opportunity to go abroad and have a cross-cultural experience,” said Tom Meyers, director of international education. “Even for students who have already gone on SST, this is a chance to experience yet another culture. It’s a wonderful window into a larger world.”

The Healthcare in Nepal course will give 11 nursing students the chance to work in a hospital alongside Nepali nursing students from the Tansen School of Nursing in the hills of Western Nepal. Gail Weybright, associate professor of nursing, and Beth Beels, a 1975 GC nursing graduate, will lead the course.

“We’re excited to see our students develop cross-cultural relationships with the Nepali students and apply their clinical skills in a very different setting,” said Weybright. “We believe it will be a mutually beneficial experience for all the students involved.”

At the same time, students in the Business in China course will travel to six cities in China to learn about the country’s rapidly developing economy. Students will have the opportunity to stay with host families and learn about every sector of the economy through field trips and university lectures.

“I see many connections between Elkhart County and China’s manufacturing sectors,” said Michelle Horning, professor of accounting and course leader. “This class offers a trip to a country the students are unlikely to go to on their own, but it’s a place they will hear about a lot in the business world. You can’t look at the global economy without looking at China.”

Meanwhile in Kenya, film students will create two documentaries while visiting agricultural sustainability projects in and around the capital city of Nairobi.

“This course is taking what the students have learned in class and putting it into practice,” said Kyle Hufford, manager of the college’s FiveCore Media production company and a professor of the course.

While film students are creating documentaries, public relations majors like Natasha Weisenbeck will be collecting and sharing stories alongside the Foods Resource Bank in Kenya’s Ndeiya region. This class will be Weisenbeck’s first time traveling out of the United States.

“May term classes like Communications in Kenya allow me to have similar experiences as my SST-experienced classmates, while also providing me an opportunity to hone my skills in public relations and learn how communities in other countries are approaching sustainability issues first-hand,” said Weisenbeck, a senior from Clifton, Ill.

Other international courses offered this May include Kenya Research, a wildlife conservation course set in the savannas of Kenya; History in Spain and Morocco, a course that explores the historic link between Granada, Spain, and Rabat, Morocco; and The Journey of Paul in Greece and Rome, a course that traces the Apostle Paul’s footsteps through the Mediterranean.

Goshen College typically offers two or three international May term classes in a given year, so six course offerings are “an anomaly,” said Meyers. Though more students will be off-campus than usual, international May term courses have been a staple at Goshen College for over 40 years.

In addition to international courses, other off-campus May term opportunities include two marine biology courses in Florida as well as environmental education and ornithology courses at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center in Wolf Lake, Ind.

This year’s May term will begin on Wednesday, April 30 and end on Wednesday, May 21. To follow select course blogs, visit http://www.goshen.edu/blogs/.

Twenty-two Goshen College students are spending their summer working with professors on various research projects during the college’s eight-week Maple Scholars program.

The Maple Scholars program gives students the opportunity to participate in independent research projects alongside Goshen College faculty of various disciplines. Each scholar works with a faculty member who serves as both a colleague and a supervisor.

The college’s Maple Scholars program began in 1998. Unlike undergraduate research projects at many larger universities where students work only with graduate students, Maple Scholars work with professors who can answer their questions and guide them in their research and learning. Students also get the chance to share their work together in a colloquium each Friday and engage other students across disciplines.
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Martin Banda, a sophomore molecular biology and biochemistry major from Mishawaka, Ind., is working with Assistant Professor of Biology Kris Schmidt on cell migration and its wide variety of processes, including formation of the nervous system and abnormal cell migration contributing to diseases such as cancer.

Suman Bhandari, a 2013 graduate who majored in molecular biology and biochemistry from Goshen, Ind., is working with visiting Adjunct Professor of Biology Richard Manalis and Jessica Davila, a Goshen College molecular biology/biochemistry and mathematics double major, to research fundamental aspects of learning and memory by recording muscle contractions observed in a frog’s nerves.
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Dennis Chavez, a 2013 graduate who double majored in physics and mathematics from Barnesville, Ohio, is working with Professor Emeritus of Physics Carl Helrich to research the formations of cholesterol supported nystatin channels in relation to membrane biophysics.
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Matthew Chen, a junior physics major from Taiwan, and Aaron Shelly, a 2013 graduate double majoring in physics and mathematics from Bluffton, Ohio, are working with Professor of Physics John Ross Buschert to create a tuning graph for marimba bars. ____________________________________________________________________________

Liz Core, a senior communication major from Pella, Iowa, and Ariel Ropp, a 2013 graduate double majoring in psychology and communication from Schaumburg, Ill., are working with Professor of Communication Duane Stoltzfus to evaluate the first year of publication of the Goshen Commons website (www.goshencommons.org). Goshen Commons, a community news and blog site, is published by the Goshen College Communication Department.
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Abby Deaton, a junior psychology and communication double major from Indianapolis, Ind., is working with FiveCore Media General Manager Kyle Hufford to research the use of video on community blogs.
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Micah Detweiler, a junior music major from Goshen, Ind., is working with Assistant Professor of Music Christopher Fashun to research and apply the pedagogical approaches of the Comprehensive Musicianship Project of Wisconsin (CMP) and the Teaching Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance series to the marching arts.
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Lucas Godshalk, a 2013 graduate who majored in physics from Plymouth, Ind., is working with Associate Professor of Physics Paul Meyer Reimer to research and construct apparatuses to detect and measure elastic waves in thin sheets for comparison.
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Martin Hofkamp, a senior peace, justice and conflict studies major from Peabody, Kan., and Marita Beachy, a 2013 graduate double majoring in elementary education and special education from Shaker Heights, Ohio, are working with Associate Professor of Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies Carolyn Schrock-Shenk to prepare an “Inside-Out” curriculum, which brings college students together with incarcerated men and women to study as peers in a seminar behind prison walls. This is the first prison course implementation in Elkhart County.
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Oscar Kirwa, a senior business major from Kenya, is working with Professor of History Jan Bender Shetler, to learn more about the Mara Cultural Digital Library (MCHDL) to connect with schools and communities in Tanzania. He is digitizing interviews and learning about the community’s history, culture, language, education and community development.
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Theodore Kuchar, a sophomore biology major from Ann Arbor, Mich., is working with Assistant Professor of Biology Andy Ammons to set up bee colonies on campus and at the Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College to perform basic techniques of bee keeping, skilled marking and observing living bees.
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Andrea Moya, a senior social work and psychology double major from Quito, Ecuador, is working with Professor of History Steve Nolt and Associate Academic Dean Tom Meyers to research the Amish population of Northern Indiana through data programs to create a single profile of the community.
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Aradhana Roberts, a 2013 graduate from Mussoorie, India who double majored in biology and environmental science, is working with Assistant Professor of Sustainability and Environmental Education Jonathon Schramm to identify and prioritize emerging invasive plants at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College.

Peter Schrock, a junior mathematics major from Goshen, Ind., and Andy Clemens, a senior math and physics double major from Baltimore, Md., are working with Professor of Mathematics David Housman to research fair allocation by developing a mathematical model of a situation and then defining the fairness properties to suggest allocation methods to aid in determining whether the allocation methods satisfy the defined fairness properties.
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Tessa Yoder, a junior biology and environmental science double major from Goshen, Ind., and Aaron Kauffman, a senior molecular biology and biochemistry major from Goshen, Ind., are working with retired Professor of Biology Stan Grove to test activities and develop protocol for growing multiple strains of algae. Read more about their AlgaeTown project.
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Carina Zehr, a senior environmental science and sociology double major from Foosland, Ill., and Twila Albrecht, a junior journalism and sociology double major from Goshen, Ind., are working with Associate Professor of Sociology David Lind to research the association between relative adherence to agrarianism and other potentially relevant dimensions of people’s lives.

]]>https://www.goshen.edu/news/2013/06/24/22-students-research-alongside-professors-during-summer/feed/0From the classroom to the colonies, students gain a new perspective on Anabaptism in Paraguayhttps://www.goshen.edu/news/2013/06/17/from-the-classroom-to-the-colonies-students-gain-a-new-perspective-on-anabaptism-in-paraguay/
https://www.goshen.edu/news/2013/06/17/from-the-classroom-to-the-colonies-students-gain-a-new-perspective-on-anabaptism-in-paraguay/#respondMon, 17 Jun 2013 18:00:24 +0000http://www.goshen.edu/news/?p=7627

The Goshen College Anabaptist History in Paraguay May term class outside of a Beachy Amish school in the Luz y Esperanza colony in East Paraguay. The class gathered at the school to play with the children, sing, eat and hear from church leaders.(Photo courtesy of Mara Weaver)

Not everyone travels 5,000 miles to go to class. But during May term this year, a group of Goshen College students made their way to Paraguay to experience Anabaptist culture, identity and history in South America firsthand.

Goshen College Professor of History John D. Roth led 17 students in an exploration of the different Anabaptist cultures of Paraguay. The class trekked from the capital city of Asunción to Mennonite colonies in the Gran Chaco and in eastern Paraguay during their three-week learning tour of the country.

Roth has led three May term classes in Europe, tracing the beginnings of the Anabaptist movement in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, but this was his first time leading an Anabaptist history class in South America. The new location arose from his shifting focus to global Anabaptism and his recent travels to emerging Anabaptist locations in Central and South America, Asia and Africa.

“I have tried to reorient my understanding of Anabaptism from a focus primarily on the 16th century, German-speaking tradition to its contemporary expression in 85-plus different countries,” Roth said. “I have found Paraguay to be an ideal “laboratory” for thinking through this new perspective.”

According to Roth, at least 20 different Anabaptist-Mennonite groups have settled in Paraguay, some with deep roots in traditional European Anabaptism. They preserve a strong sense of their ethnic, cultural and religious identity by living in relatively isolated colonies far from Asunción. Many of these groups came to Paraguay from Russia, Canada or the United States, bringing with them some elements of their tradition, while also absorbing Paraguayan aspects of life.

Other Anabaptist groups in the country have emerged as a result of local missions among native Paraguayans, who generally speak Spanish or Guaraní, a native dialect, and have adopted worship styles similar to the evangelical traditions around them.

“Paraguay is a microcosm of the diversity and variety of the global Anabaptist-Mennonite church today,” Roth said.

For Mara Weaver, a 2013 graduate with a history degree from Bloomington, Ill., the class provided an opportunity to learn more about her Anabaptist heritage in a unique South American setting. “I have an interest in Anabaptist-Mennonite history and hadn’t had a chance to take an Anabaptist history course on campus,” she said. “In addition to that, I knew next to nothing about Mennonites in Paraguay before the trip, so I figured it would be a great opportunity to learn a lot about an unfamiliar subject.”

While Roth kept the class busy with readings, journal assignments, discussions and special projects, the main mode of learning came from the group’s experiences both in the capital and visiting Mennonite and Amish colonies throughout the country.

“I was expecting more of a history class – and we certainly did learn a lot about Anabaptist history and Paraguayan history, as well as the history of the Mennonite groups in Paraguay – but quickly realized that it was much more than that,” Weaver said. “For me, the way that I approached the subject matter was very much shaped by the fact that we were not just studying people and theological movement of the past. We were interacting with and living with the people at the heart of our study.”

The Goshen College Anabaptist History in Paraguay May term class share conversation and a meal with members of the community at the Bruderhof house in Asunción.(Photo courtesy of Mara Weaver)

After arriving in Asunción, the class spent six days exploring the city, learning about the history of Anabaptists in Paraguay from local leaders and reflecting on their experiences. They then travelled to Menno Colony, a settlement founded in 1926 in the Paraguayan Chaco by Russian Mennonite immigrants. There they stayed with host families and experienced life and culture in the colony firsthand.

After a few days back in Asunción, which included a visit to Paraguay’s largest prison that is partly maintained by one of the Mennonite churches in Asunción, the class made its way to east Paraguay. There they stayed near the Sommerfeld Colony and visited different groups in the area, again staying with Mennonite and Beachy Amish host families.

“I loved the opportunity to stay with host families,” said Ben Hochstetler, a sophomore from Goshen. “In both places I was blessed with tremendous host families who helped provide answers to my questions and who treated our group with incredible hospitality.”

For Weaver, the class was a chance to not only explore history, but her own faith as well. “I often found that my reflections on the content of the course warranted quite a bit of introspection and pushed me to nail down some of my own theological beliefs, as well as challenging me to question my own ethnic and cultural traditions and practices,” she said.

Hochstetler had a similar experience. “I find it fascinating to see how some of the basic Mennonite core convictions that I hold as a Mennonite in North America have been shaped and almost reinterpreted by the Mennonites that live in Paraguay,” he said.

Roth was impressed by the energy and insight of the students. “Their questions, their journal reflections, their individual projects were all amazingly insightful; and it seemed as if we were engaged in conversations about our experiences at every hour of the day,” Roth said. “I have never been more proud of Goshen College students. They were eager to think in interdisciplinary ways, moving across theology, ethics, history, sociology and anthropology as we tried to understand the diversity of contexts.”

More than 35 people from seven countries gathered – including Mennonite theologian Rebecca Osiro from Kenya (standing). Photos by Kaeli Evans

GOSHEN, Ind. – More than 35 people from eight countries gathered at Goshen College on August 5-8, for an international consultation on the theme, “Bearing Witness: A New Martyrs Mirror for the 21st Century?” Hosted by the college’s Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism, the international gathering explored the possibility of a major story-gathering initiative, focused especially on the theme of “costly discipleship.”

According to conference organizer and Goshen College Professor of History John D. Roth, Anabaptist-Mennonite groups have had a long tradition of story telling, particularly stories of those who have suffered or died because of their convictions. In 1562, Anabaptists in the Netherlands secretly published a collection of martyr stories, known as Het Offer des Heeren (Sacrifice Unto the Lord). The book appeared in many subsequent editions, culminating in 1685 with an expanded version of stories called the Martyrs Mirror. The Martyrs Mirror is a richly-illustrated collection of narratives, hymns, confessions and devotional reflections with the theme of suffering for faith.

Since 1685, no further expansions of the book have been published, even though many Anabaptist groups continued to suffer for their faith. Suffering continues today, including in places that the church has expanded internationally, like Indonesia, India, Zimbabwe, Congo and Colombia.

Roth invited scholars and church leaders from a wide range of groups to discuss the possibility of gathering stories of costly discipleship. He described three main reasons for the consultation.

“First, we hope that the project might encourage deeper faithfulness to Jesus among all those who encounter the stories,” he said. “Second, the project should strengthen relationships within and beyond the global Anabaptist church. Finally, we think it is important to stand in solidarity with those who have suffered for their faith, particularly the vulnerable and the voiceless who are easily forgotten in history.”

Goshen College Professor of History John D. Roth, a consultation organizer, leads one of the conversations.

Participants in the consultation affirmed the project, encouraging Roth and co-moderator, Bluffton University Professor of Communication Gerald Mast, to cultivate a broad base of support for the research and gathering phase. The group also identified several important challenges that will need to be addressed as the project continues.

“There can be a danger,” said Jack Suderman, former General Secretary of Mennonite Church Canada, “of speaking about victimization from a perspective of power, or that we use the suffering of others to bolster our own positions.”

Other participants noted the logistical and practical challenges of gathering stories from a global body numbering 1.7 million members. Participants also wrestled with the question of who “qualifies” for inclusion in the project.

Some argued for narrow definitions—focusing the initiative only on individuals from Anabaptist groups who had died for their faith. The majority favored a broader scope that would include some stories of nonresistant Christians outside the Anabaptist tradition, as well as those whose suffering did not necessarily result in death. Roth noted that the title of the consultation, “Bearing Witness,” was an effort to shift the focus from physical suffering to the deeper reasons behind the suffering.

“Originally, the word ‘martyr’ simply meant ‘witness,’” he said. “This project should not be seen as an attempt to make a fetish out of torture, suffering or victimhood. Rather, we are trying to encourage the church to continue to ‘bear witness’ to the faith, even if it should entail great cost.”

A high point of the consultation came on Tuesday morning when various participants shared stories from their own experience. In addition to stories from the church in Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union, Alix Lozano, a Mennonite theologian from Colombia, related a story from her country of what she called “living martyrs.”

For more than a decade, paramilitary groups and the national army of Colombia have fought to control the land owned and farmed by a small rural community in the southern part of the country. Recently, a multinational company also expressed interest in the land, since it is situated in an area rich in minerals.

Last December, the local pastor, who also serves as a community leader, was told that he and his community would need to leave. When he refused, he and his family received a series of death threats. Initially, he took the counsel of outside supporters who encouraged him to take refuge. Recently, however, he has decided to return to his community, accepting the risk of death.

(Right) Bluffton University Professor of Communication Gerald Mast, co-moderator of the consultation, leads one of the sessions.

“He has returned despite all these threats,” Lozano said. “The situation right now is very difficult for him and his family because these armed groups are persistent in moving him and his community. In these communities, their land is their life. When you take their land from them, you take their lives from them as well. This is a story of this community. They’ve opted for a nonviolent way, even if it means individual sacrifice. They are the living martyrs in our context. Even though they are physically alive, the strategy of those who want to remove them has undermined their spirits and threatened their lives.”

When the members of the consultation listened to these stories, Mast said, “we became spiritually united as brothers and sisters in Christ. This experience of growing spiritual closeness convinced me that gathering and sharing stories of costly witness in the coming years will strengthen relationships throughout the global Anabaptist family of faith.”

Gathering these and other stories, Roth said, “will require an enormous amount of work along with great sensitivity and care.” But he and Mast are optimistic about the future and hope to continue moving the project forward.

“We heard from many people from all kinds of settings that they need this resource in their churches and schools and families,” Mast said. “This need was often expressed with some urgency and with the counsel to move beyond discussion toward action and organization and accomplishment of the emerging vision.”

Although the ultimate outcome of the “Bearing Witness” initiative has not been defined, Roth hopes to make significant progress by 2025, which marks the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Anabaptist movement.

– By Kaeli Evans

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College Assistant Director of Public Relations Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.

]]>https://www.goshen.edu/news/2012/08/13/process-for-new-martyrs-mirror-begins/feed/0Fourteen students research alongside professors during summerhttps://www.goshen.edu/news/2012/08/09/fourteen-goshen-college-students-research-alongside-professors-during-summer/
https://www.goshen.edu/news/2012/08/09/fourteen-goshen-college-students-research-alongside-professors-during-summer/#respondThu, 09 Aug 2012 16:10:25 +0000http://www.goshen.edu/news/?p=5502GOSHEN, Ind. — Fourteen Goshen College students spent the summer working with professors on various research projects during the college’s eight-week Maple Scholars program in June and July.

Maple Scholars gives students the opportunity to participate in independent research projects alongside Goshen College faculty of various disciplines. Each scholar is paired with a faculty member who serves as both colleague and supervisor.

Paul Keim & Marcelle Al-Zoughbi

Marcelle Al-Zoughbi, an elementary education/special education and TESOL double major from Bethlehem, Palestine worked with Professor of Bible and Religion Paul Keim on a project to envision, develop and institute a program of Arabic Studies that embodies the unique ethos of our Anabaptist heritage and equips students for further study and service in the Arab world.

David Housman & Philip Bontrager

Philip Bontrager, a junior informatics major from Goshen, Ind., worked with Professor of Mathematics David Housman on a project developing visualizations to assist in better understanding notions of fairness and their interrelationships in resource allocation problems.

Lisa Horst & Deb Brubaker

Lisa Horst, a 2012 graduate who majored in music education from Goshen, Ind., worked with Professor of Music Debra Brubaker on a project archiving and digitizing field recordings that Professor Emeritus Mary Oyer recorded between 1969 and 1987.

Caleb Hostetler & Kent Palmer

Caleb Hostetler, a senior informatics major from Souderton, Pa., worked with Professor of Informatics Kent Palmer on developing a higher education application for mobile technology.

Rhiannon Jones, a senior biology major from Lafayette, Ind., worked with Professor of Physics Carl Helrich on a project attempting to establish the form of cholesterol structures on phospholipid (biological) membranes experimentally.

Jenna Nofziger & Stan Grove & Nathaniel Tann

Jenna Nofziger, a junior molecular biology/biochemistry major from Archbold, Ohio, and Nathaniel Tann, a 2012 graduate with majors in biology and psychology from East Petersburg, Pa., worked with Professor of Biology Stan Grove on a project generating algal biomass inexpensively enough to allow the derived biofuel to compete with petroleum-based fuels.

Beth Martin Birky & Grace Parker

Grace Parker, a senior English and Bible and religion double major from Wichita, Kan., worked with Professor of English Beth Martin Birky on researching the theme of social justice in the work of Virginia Woolf.

Rebecca Weaver & Lauren Stoltzfus

Lauren Stoltzfus, a senior English writing major from Lancaster, Pa., and Rebecca Weaver, a 2012 graduate with a major in psychology from Harleysville, Pa., worked with Professor of English Ann Hostetler on a project collecting research data on the pedagogy of multicultural literature studied at the college level.

Mara Swartzendruber & Andy Ammons

Mara Swartzendruber, a senior biology major from Albuquerque, N.M., worked with Assistant Professor of Biology Andrew Ammons studied stress on honeybees.

Bob Yoder & Leanna Teodosio

Leanna Teodosio, a junior sociology and Bible and religion major from Lima, Ohio, worked with Campus Pastor Bob Yoder on a project exploring how Goshen College can better support the faith development of students.

Emily Trapp & Bev Lapp

Emily Trapp, a senior music and communications major from Canby, Ore., worked with Professor of Music Beverly K. Lapp on a project analyzing the content of several popular piano methods to determine the balance of creative work and effectiveness of these within the curriculum for developing pianists, with hopes of producing an online resource that summarizes this research to aid piano teachers.

John D. Roth & Kate Yoder

Kate Yoder, a junior art and English writing major from Elkhart, Ind., worked with Professor of History John D. Roth on a project compiling an in-depth bibliography of sources related to Christian martyrdom, the “Martyrs Mirror,” and costly discipleship in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition in preparation for an August international consultation called “Bearing Witness: A New ‘Martyrs Mirror’ for the 21st Century?”

The college’s Maple Scholars program began in 1998. Unlike undergraduate research projects at many larger universities where students work only with graduate students, students in Maple Scholars work with professors who can answer their questions and guide them in their research and learning. Students also get the chance to share their work together in a colloquium each Friday and engage other students across disciplines.

– By Anna Ruth

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.

]]>https://www.goshen.edu/news/2012/08/09/fourteen-goshen-college-students-research-alongside-professors-during-summer/feed/0History professors’ essays featured in book on evangelicalism and Anabaptismhttps://www.goshen.edu/news/2012/06/21/history-professors-essays-featured-in-book-on-evangelicalism-and-anabaptism/
https://www.goshen.edu/news/2012/06/21/history-professors-essays-featured-in-book-on-evangelicalism-and-anabaptism/#respondThu, 21 Jun 2012 18:16:35 +0000http://www.goshen.edu/news/?p=5174

John D. Roth & Steve Nolt

GOSHEN, Ind. — Two Goshen College faculty members have contributed chapters to a recent book that attempts to address the relationship between Anabaptists and evangelicals, and to encourage meaningful dialogue between the two groups. Goshen College Professors of History Steven M. Nolt and John D. Roth contributed essays to the book, The Activist Impulse: Essays on the Intersection of Evangelicalism and Anabaptism (Pickwick, April 2012), edited by Jared S. Burkholder and David C. Cramer.

The Activist Impulse is among the first substantial explorations of the connections and differences between Anabaptists and evangelicals. With contributions from various experts as well as new voices, the book addresses both the historical and theological intersection of these two rich traditions. Each of the essays provides fresh insight on at least one characteristic that both evangelicals and Anabaptists share — a desire to engage society through the pursuit of an active Christian witness.

“While both traditions share this impulse for active witness,” Burkholder said, “there are significant tensions that exist both within these movements as well as in their relationship with each other.” The main goal of the book according to Burkholder “is to revisit the conversation and renew interest in this topic within academic and historical circles.”

Nolt and Roth are authors of two of the 14 chapters. “This book pulls together essays that explore both sides of the evangelical-Anabaptist relationship,” said Nolt. While Nolt focuses on evangelicals and Anabaptists in North America in his essay and Roth addresses the European roots of each group, both chapters reflect on the conversation and interaction between evangelicals and Anabaptists regarding their activist impulses and understandings of one another.

“This book is important because while North American Mennonites are almost always in conversation with evangelicals, some are comfortable with it and some are not,” said Nolt. “Some Mennonites are trying to define themselves as not being evangelical. So the conversation about relationship does exist, but it doesn’t always seem to be thoughtful or fruitful. I think there are certainly thoughtful people in both groups who would benefit from the exploration in this book, and it could encourage even broader conversation.”

Roth agrees that The Activist Impulse “points towards a continuation of the sort of ‘ecumenical’ conversations that are moving forward with Anabaptists/Mennonites.” Nolt adds that the essays might provide some understanding for Anabaptists with a negative view of evangelicalism, and that the book could encourage each group to participate in discussion that might ease tension and promote understanding and healing in what has historically been a contentious relationship.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College Assistant Director of Public Relations Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values — passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership — prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.

]]>https://www.goshen.edu/news/2012/06/21/history-professors-essays-featured-in-book-on-evangelicalism-and-anabaptism/feed/0“Goshen College students perform history play to elementary school students” in the Elkhart Truthhttps://www.goshen.edu/news/2012/05/14/goshen-college-students-perform-history-play-to-elementary-school-students-in-the-elkhart-truth-2/
https://www.goshen.edu/news/2012/05/14/goshen-college-students-perform-history-play-to-elementary-school-students-in-the-elkhart-truth-2/#respondMon, 14 May 2012 09:18:04 +0000http://www.goshen.edu/news/?p=5020https://www.goshen.edu/news/2012/05/14/goshen-college-students-perform-history-play-to-elementary-school-students-in-the-elkhart-truth-2/feed/0